Council - Wednesday 26 November 2025, 7:00pm - Folkestone & Hythe webcasting

Council
Wednesday, 26th November 2025 at 7:00pm

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Start of webcast

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Cllr Anita Jones
Microphone Forty
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr David Godfrey
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Anita Jones
Dr Susan Priest

1 Apologies for Absence

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Cllr Anita Jones

2 Declarations of Interest

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Declarations of Interest

Cllr John Wing
Cllr Rich Holgate
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Paul Thomas
Cllr Anita Jones

3 Minutes

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Minutes , 01/10/2025 Council

Cllr Anita Jones

4 Chair's Communications

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5 Petitions

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6 Questions from the Public

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Microphone Forty
Microphone Forty
Microphone Forty
Cllr Polly Blakemore
Microphone Forty
Cllr Polly Blakemore
Microphone Forty
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Jim Martin
Cllr Anita Jones

7 Questions from Councillors

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Cllr Questions

Cllr Liz McShane
Cllr Tim Prater
Cllr Liz McShane
Cllr Tim Prater
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Liz McShane
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Mike Blakemore
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Liz McShane
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Laura Davison
Cllr James Butcher
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Laura Davison
Cllr James Butcher
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Bridget Chapman
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Jim Martin
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Bridget Chapman
Cllr Jim Martin
Cllr Bridget Chapman
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr James Butcher
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Bridget Chapman
Cllr James Butcher
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Nicola Keen
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Polly Blakemore
Cllr Nicola Keen
Cllr Polly Blakemore
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Nicola Keen
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Polly Blakemore
Cllr Nicola Keen
Cllr Polly Blakemore
Cllr Anita Jones

8 Announcements of the Leader of the Council

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Cllr Jim Martin
Cllr Adrian Lockwood
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr David Godfrey
Cllr Jim Martin
Cllr Anita Jones

9 Portfolio Holder reports to Council

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Portfolio Updates - Council

10 Opposition Business

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11 Motions on Notice

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Motion Report Council 26 November 2025

Cllr Rich Holgate
Cllr Mike Blakemore
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Bridget Chapman
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Anita Jones
Ms Jemma West
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Rich Holgate
Cllr Mike Blakemore
Cllr Anita Jones
Councillor Tony Hills
Cllr Jackie Meade
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Paul Thomas
Cllr Alan Martin
Cllr Stephen Scoffham
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr David Godfrey
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr David Godfrey
Cllr Jeremy Speakman
Cllr Tony Cooper
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Nicola Keen
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Rich Holgate
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Anita Jones

12 Medium Term Capital Programme update 2025/26

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Capital Works Projects Update November 2025 FINAL AB v2

Cllr Tim Prater
Councillor Tony Hills
Cllr Anita Jones

13 Delivering more council owned temporary accommodation

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Cllr Rebecca Shoob
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Tim Prater
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Jackie Meade
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr John Wing
Cllr Nicola Keen
Cllr Anita Jones
Cllr Anita Jones
Webcast Finished

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Disclaimer: This transcript was automatically generated, so it may contain errors. Please view the webcast to confirm whether the content is accurate.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:00:11

Good evening, could we all remain standing if we are able and we could have Reverend Andy Yan this evening to lead us in prayer. Thank you.

Microphone Forty - 0:00:19

Lord God, in our prayers for our district, we remember especially those in positions

of authority who influence the life of this district, those who fashion politics, those

who frame and administer our laws, those who mould public opinions through the press, radio,

television, and social media, those who write what many read. May they all

recognise their responsibility to you and to our district, that people may be

influenced for what is good, not evil, for what is true, not false, for the glory of

your name. Amen. Lord, we lift up to you all the residents and people who work in

this district amidst the festive celebrations of Christmas.

We know that there are many families,

including some without a place to live

and business in this district facing hardship.

We pray that they will feel their voices are heard

and that by your grace, they will have their needs met

for the decisions of all members

and officers of this council.

We are especially thankful for the services of local voluntary organisations such as the Sunflower House, the Rainbow Centre, Age UK, the Romany Marsh Community Hub, the network of local food banks, warm hubs and depth advice groups.

Lord, guide our conversations this evening in a way that these charities will find their work appreciated and supported.

Amen.

Lord, we pray that you give a spirit of unity and cooperation despite our differences.

We pray for wisdom, guidance and discernment in terms of the decisions which need to be made tonight.

that they will seek the common good of the people within this district. Amen.

Lord, as we approach the end of another year, we give thanks for the time, energy,

service and hard work of all officers and members of this Council and all the

charity organisations, praying that they will have a restful break knowing the

appreciation of their service to this district.

Amen.

Oh Lord, our God, as we prepare to celebrate

Christmas again, we ask you to make us humble

and loving your son, Jesus Christ,

who did not come to be served, but should serve,

and who taught us that it's better to give than receive,

so that in his name, we may devote ourselves

to the care and service of all those who are in need.

We ask this through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:03:33

Thank you. Can we all just take a seat, please?

So we're going to start this evening with a moment of silence

for former Councillor Philip Martin.

Philip Martin was elected to Fochton High District Council in 2007.

He was also Vice Chair of the Council from 2019 to 2021,

and then Chair of the Council from May 21 until May 23.

He was known as an energetic councillor

and always loved to dress in bright colours.

Councillor David Godfrey is going to say a few more words.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Cllr David Godfrey - 0:04:12

Philip was elected at the same time as me in 2007,

so I've known him pretty much since then.

He was also a hawkish town councillor and past mayor.

You're right, he was always very energetic,

very enthused about what he did, and felt a lot for his community.

He did a lot of work with the Lions raising funds,

and he had a very varied career.

Several different types of activity got himself involved in,

one of which was running the local pub, which was rather fun.

He was well known for his dress sense.

In other words, he was always in very, very colourful, bright coloured clothes whenever he could.

And everybody remembers him from that.

He was a fun guy to be around and these were myself and several others actually attended the funeral,

which was a very good send off by his family.

So, I think he deserved to be remembered and has done a good job for us.

And may he rest in peace. Thank you.

Thank you.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:05:08

Thank you. So let's have a moment of silence just to reflect on what Philip Martin gave to our community.

Thank you.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:05:42

So good evening and welcome to the meeting of full council.

This meeting will be webcast live to the internet.

For those who do not wish to be recorded or filmed, you will need to leave the chamber.

For members, officers and others speaking at the meeting, it is important that the microphones

are used so viewers on the webcast and others in the room may hear you.

Would anyone with a mobile phone please switch it to silent mode as they can be distracting.

I would like to remind members that although we all have strong opinions on matters under

consideration it is important to treat members, officers and public speakers with respect.

Please feel free to sit or stand when speaking.

So item 1 on our agenda, apologies for absence.

1 Apologies for Absence

Dr Susan Priest - 0:06:27

Thank you chair and evening councillors, colleagues and members of the public.

We've got six apologies for absence this evening from Councillors Goddard, Walker,

Wimble, Kufu Kelly, Nacombul and Councillor Mrs Hollingsworth. Thank you.

2 Declarations of Interest

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:06:46

Thank you and then item two declarations of interest. Does anybody have any declarations

of interest? Councillor John Wing.

Thank you chair, Director of Double Tness.

Cllr John Wing - 0:06:56

Thank you and Councillor Holgate.

Thanks, Councillor, for reminding me. I'm the chair of the opportunity.

Cllr Rich Holgate - 0:07:03

And Councillor Thomas?

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:07:07

Cllr Paul Thomas - 0:07:10

Yeah, I'm the director of opportunity and under item 11,

I'm also a volunteer, my vital volunteer at the Romy Marsh Community Herb. Thank you.

3 Minutes

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:07:23

Thank you. So we'll move on to item 3 to sign the minutes of the meeting held on the 1st of October.

Are we all agreed that they are correct record of the meeting?

We are agreed.

Thank you very much.

4 Chair's Communications

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:07:59

So moving on to item 4, Chairs Communications. So firstly, thank you to those of you who

have helped donate items towards the Rainbow Centre reverse Advent calendar this evening.

Throughout the year, councillors have made some amazing donations towards this fantastic

charity. Every donation makes a huge difference to someone's life in our district, so thank

you, all of you. It's been a busy two months since our last full council meeting. I've

attended a huge variety of events both in and out of the district. I was pleased to

have a tour of the model railway exhibition at the Ruley's Cliff Hall. The Folkestone

Model Railway Club organised a fantastic event every year attracting people of all ages to

Folkestone. I attended the justice service for the County of Kent in Canterbury Cathedral

with the High Sheriff of Kent. In the last week of the triennial I hosted a group of

visiting mayors and councillors with the Mayor of Folkestone for a tour of the artworks with

Alistair Upton, Chief Executive of Creative Folkstone.

He gave an excellent insight into both the artworks

and the impact this event has on business

and tourism in Folkstone.

I understand that he is stepping down

from his role next year and I'd like to thank him

for everything he has done for Folkstone.

The season of remembrance is always a poignant time.

I attended the Poppy Launch in Hyde,

which featured our wonderful

Sean Cliff Military Wives Choir,

alongside a brass band and soloist.

The dedication of the Garden of Remembrance in Folkestone featured the Shepway Brass Academy

and I was proud to plant a small cross next to the Women's Royal Voluntary Service Cross.

I attended a service at the Western Docks in Dover which centred around the Cavall Van

which is famous for transporting the unknown warrior to Westminster at the end of the war.

On Remembrance Sunday I laid a wreath at the Hyde Memorial alongside the Mayor and many

community organisations and on the 11th I laid a wreath at the Machine Gun Court Memorial

in Cherryton Road Cemetery.

In support of our town mayors,

I've attended charity fundraising quizzes

with the mayors of Hyde and New Romney.

Not always successful with my team, unfortunately.

I was proud to represent our district in Calais

at the start of November for an extraordinary event,

Le Berain de Voyage L 'Odessy.

The event featured a huge mechanical dragon,

lizard and scorpion playing out scenes

from a storey in the streets of Calais,

which progressed over the weekend.

I was pleased to chat with the Mayor of Calais

and the Chief of Police and the Army for Northern France

at the opening event to continue to build friendships

between our countries.

I was delighted to attend the Unlocking Talent event

at Foulkeson College organised by Councillor Bridget Chapman.

This was an exciting event bringing local businesses together

to make pledges of support to increase opportunities

for students currently studying at the college.

I attended the opening of the Folkstone Book Festival alongside fellow councillors and

we had the opportunity to hear Joanne Harris talk about her past and present books.

The Folkstone Symphony Orchestra put on another fantastic concert and I was delighted to see

a full audience of supporters enjoying their beautiful music.

I planted 420 tree whips in Hyde last week alongside councillors, students from Brockhill

School and residents from Napier Barracks. The last event I attended this month was a

concert with the band of the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment and the Shorncliffe Military

Wives Choir in St. Leonards Church, HIVE. This concert was raising money for local charities

in HIVE and again was excellent. On a final note, I'm delighted that our District Council

magazine is being delivered to all households in the District this week. Thank you to all

the officers and councillors who've put this together.

Thank you.

So we're gonna move on to item five

and we have no petitions this evening.

5 Petitions

6 Questions from the Public

So then that takes us to public questions, item number six.

So there are four questions from members of the public

but I understand they're not all here this evening.

So question one from Miss Scott.

Is Miss Scott here?

No.

So what we will do, we will provide Miss Scott

with a written response to that answer.

Question to Miss Phelps.

Is Miss Phelps here?

Wonderful, thank you.

If you'd like to come up and we'll hear your question.

Microphone Forty - 0:12:34

Microphone Forty - 0:12:35

Microphone Forty - 0:12:41

Thank you. I have a question. I think it's for Councillor Mike Lakemore.

No, I'm Holly Blakemore.

So, Councillor Holly Blakemore.

A request, please. Could we have a bike rack at Marine Crescent

down on the parade, Marine Parade in Folkestone?

There is a derfer facilities down there

and residents have a number of bikes

and they're either tethered to our railings

or they're having to be stored on communal areas inside,

which is actually a fire hazard.

And during the warmer months,

we find ourselves with extra bikes from visitors

who are wanting to use the beach facilities or the coastal path

and we're just overrun with bicycles.

I know the nearest bike rack is actually at the bottom of Tontine Street in the old High

Street but that doesn't help us further along towards shoreline and the coastal path.

Councillor Polly Blakemore.

Thank you for that question.

I've actually got good news for you.

Cllr Polly Blakemore - 0:13:58

Rooine Crescent was actually one of the sites we identified and proposed as a priority location

for a bike hangar in a bid that we submitted to Kent County Council's active travel team

back in March earlier this year.

So our officers have been in touch with the active travel project officer for an update

on the status of the provisional funding awarded under the consolidated active travel fund

which is administered by Kent County Council.

They have confirmed that the marine present site

has made the short list for a bike hanger

and we will hear early in the new year

if the application for funding on which it depends

has been successful.

Assuming it is, and we have every reason to think it will be

but I just can't promise anything yet,

but assuming it is, we will be able to proceed

with the installation of that bike hanger.

And do you have a, sorry, do you have a supplementary question?

I do. Thank you.

Microphone Forty - 0:14:56

I understood it was going to be March 2027 before there was any indication of whether we'd be successful or not.

Councillor Polly Blakemore.

Cllr Polly Blakemore - 0:15:11

This is an update I was given a week ago, so I'm not sure if we're getting our information from different sources,

but certainly the officers of the BACUC who are running the debate causing this funding are saying early in the new year we want to know.

and then installations should hopefully happen

not too long after that.

I'll hear differently and I'll let you know.

Thank you very much for your question.

Microphone Forty - 0:15:37

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:15:38

So question three on our list is from Mrs. J. Verona

to Councillor Jim Martin.

She had asked in advance that I could ask her question

as she's not present.

So the question is, we have a problem

with foul -smelling drains at the rear of Marine Crescent.

Is the waste water and sewage from shoreline development being discharged into existing

drains used by marine crescent?

If so, could this be the cause of the smell?

Councillor Jim Martin.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Mrs Verona.

Cllr Jim Martin - 0:16:11

I understand that the shoreline's drainage network has been tested and it is not the

source of the smell.

The source of the smell has been traced to the southern water foul sewer running beneath Lower Sandgate Road

from the Lees Coastal Park eastwards.

This issue actually predates the occupation of Shoreline and typically worsens during dry weather

due to the reduced flow within the sewer.

I also understand that the issue has been reported to Southern Water on several occasions

but there does not appear to have been any improvement to date.

I will be happy to pass on the complaint directly to my senior contacts within Southern Water

requesting that they implement a permanent solution to address the problem and I will

Mrs Verona know their response when I receive it.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:17:17

Thank you. Question 4 from Mr P Jones. He's not available this evening, so he will receive

a written response to his question. Moving on to Item 6 on our agenda, we now have

7 Questions from Councillors

Councillor questions. There are seven questions from members which

has set out in front of you. And the first question is from Councillor McShane to Councillor

Prater. Good evening. In light of the reported £46 million overspent at Kent County Council,

Cllr Liz McShane - 0:17:50

just six months after the reform administration took office, can the cabinet member explain

how this level of financial mismanagement is expected to impact services in Folkestone

and Ive and what specific measures this council will take to protect residents? Councillor

Cllr Tim Prater - 0:18:10

Thank you, Chair, and I can't begin to thank you enough for your question, Liz.

At the end of Quarter 2, the Kent County Council forecast out to term was actually an overspend

of £46 .5 million. The most significant overspend in that is on adult social care and health,

totalling £50 .9 million.

Now, if Councillor Wimble was here, I'm sure he'd want me to mention that this overspend

is against the budget set by the previous Conservative administration, and that perhaps

that budget was wildly optimistic and unachievable. But it's not, so I won't. Happy happy moon,

David. And the impact of that overspend is that it's likely to remove any chance of less

than a 4 .99 % council tax rise from county council next year. Reform said it would cut

council tax at County Hall and it's increasingly certain that they can't and they won't.

And it's also likely that they're going to try and shunt costs that they should be paying

on to other people.

And that's what seems to be happening and that is what we have been and will continue

to and will always resist.

So for example KCC have already tried to claim that district councils are in breach of a

parking costs. No, they're not. Also KCC have tried to suggest that this district council

should pay a large share of the reopening of the Road of Remembrance. But it's a Kent

road run by Kent Highways who get money to fix and keep our roads open. We do our job

and we'd like them to do theirs please. They should pay. And another example is that last

year KCC stopped providing support funding to districts to administer and support the

working -age council tax reduction scheme.

That's an annual saving of £1 million a year to Kent County Council,

which even the council's own section 151 officer said in writing at the time

would cost around £10 million a year in lost income.

Now, to be fair, this was in the budget passed by the last Conservative administration.

Bad ideas at Kent County Council weren't just invented in that.

But I can give you a practical example how we're going to protect this council and our

residents from cost shunts like that.

So they've removed the funding from the CTR scheme and we need to streamline and simplify

our working age council tax reduction scheme.

Because we'll have less staff and as Kent County Council aren't providing them we have

to look to make that saving.

So as you'll know we've been out to consultation on proposals to change our council tax reduction

scheme and make it more generous and more easy for the lowest income households in our

area. We'll be bringing this to council on the 26th of January and I hope you can support

the proposals which are there then. Because under the current scheme it charges every

working age household, no matter their income or their ability to pay, at least 25 % of the

council tax. Then there are schemes in place for many of them to claim back much or some

that payment or much of that payment through an award. But we're proposing to reduce to

zero council tax payment for the households less able to pay. And by being more generous

above that too, it also means that there's much less work by both those households and

the council on then completing forms and evaluating claims for more support for the bit of council

tax that they are being asked to pay. So the impact is that many households will have less

stress to get the council tax support that they need. The impact to us is that we will

not need the staff, which were previously funded by KCC, to support that section of

the process and we can target our award -winning team's time on other support for other residents.

But the financial impact on this council will be some slightly lower income, but a rather

larger impact on Kent County Council. Sorry. And that's an example of how we can take a

change that's been given to us, a caution that's been given to us, mitigate the impact

of that and mitigate the impact of their desperate financial position, but also achieve a better

outcome for those who need our support most. Thank you. Do you have a related supplementary

Cllr Liz McShane - 0:22:40

I do. Thank you for that very detailed response, Councillor Prater. How can county council

reduce the risk of the impact of bad decisions on residents of Fuxon and Ive?

Councillor Prater.

Thank you. It's interesting, Liz. I was thinking about that earlier. The best way to avoid

Cllr Tim Prater - 0:22:55

making bad decisions is to test them. You scrutinise them. You ask questions about them.

you cheque their impacts, you look at the audits and you talk to experts and you see if they're

good decisions or ones that need to be modified to protect residents. So that's what, as you'll

know, we do here in our audit committees and our scrutiny committee. I can promise that

we've taken feedback on decisions that we've looked at through those committees and we've

improved our proposals through it. I can remember personally stealing a point in Hull that Laura

So, Davidson brought up at a scrutiny meeting and pointed out a flaw in the budget, which

we absolutely understood, took and changed because we got it wrong and she got it right.

And that's what you should be doing with scrutiny. You're testing what you're doing and making

sure that you're not having a negative impact in the wrong direction. And that's why I'm

really aghast to hear that KCC's Reform Administration are actually planning on axing many scrutiny

committees next month. Because it seems that they're going to bring a proposal to Council

to remove the cabinet scrutiny committees

to save them the bother of turning up

or explaining their proposals out loud

or answering any questions

or hearing those suggestions

or modifications or improvements.

So, my example of the council tax reduction scheme earlier

is one of those things which proves the value of scrutiny

because not every cut saves you money.

Sometimes it fights against you.

And it would seem that this is the best possible time

when they're in a budget position

to get more scrutiny, to get better discussion of those options, to get more detailed impact

assessments, to listen to other people and to take that scrutiny on board with some humility

and modify the proposals which are brought forward so they don't have the opposite impact

of that which they're intended.

Because that's what grown -ups would do in this situation.

You improve the decisions that you're bringing forward.

So, we're going to find out soon whether the County Council listen to that grown -up advice

and actually increase and not decrease the amount of scrutiny given to decisions that

they bring forward which will impact our local residents.

Thank you.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:25:11

So question number two from Councillor McShane to Councillor Mike Claymore.

Cllr Liz McShane - 0:25:19

Recent reports in Kent Online state that the Folkestone Sports Centre is expected to partially

reopen next year but that the reopening of the swimming pool currently projected for

summer 26 remains dependent on securing additional funding. Can the Cabinet Member clarify the

current status of the project including a. what additional funding is still required,

b. what steps are being taken to secure it and c. whether the projected 26 reopening

date for the swimming pool is still realistic. Thank you.

Councillor Mike Laidlaw.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:25:48

Cllr Mike Blakemore - 0:25:51

Thank you for your question, Councillor McShane. It was good to hear from the Sports Trust

about their plans to reopen folks in the Sports Centre, but as this is their project, its

current status, time to reopening, are not questions for the Council. We're not in a

position to answer them. What I can say is that we will look to support as best we can

the reopening of the Sports Centre and the Swimming Pool for community use. A proposal

has been received from the Trust which is being reviewed and any proposed grant funding

agreements will be reported to the overview and scrutiny committee and the cabinet.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:26:24

Thank you and do you have a related supplementary question?

No thank you.

Cllr Liz McShane - 0:26:26

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:26:27

Okay so we'll move on to question three from Councillor Davidson to Councillor Butcher.

Thank you Chair.

Cllr Laura Davison - 0:26:32

Please could we have more details about the informal tender process for FOLK 1.

What is the time frame and what criteria will be used to assess the bids?

Councillor Burchard.

Thank you Councillor Davidson.

Cllr James Butcher - 0:26:45

So with regards to the informal tender process, our appointed commercial estate agent will

first gage market interest over a six week period.

Given the seasonal slow down in December, we think January will be the most suitable

time to invite four more bids.

The agent will then issue a pro forma, a big pro forma for FOLK01, setting out the information

required in each submission.

Then once the bids are received, the agents will collate and summarise them in a comparison

table and convene a meeting with the council to review and scrutinise the bids further.

In the event of bids being tied in the family may offer a best and final round may follow,

typically held one week to ten days after the initial deadline.

Assessment criteria will include price, proposed time scales for exchange and completion, track

record and deliverability, proof of funds and any terms and conditions expected by the

bidders. The agents will prioritise parties able to transact quickly on the best possible

terms and delivering the highest capital receipt to the council to be utilised in the wider

focal tube project. I appreciate those just headlines. You may want more detail in the

notes. I'd be very happy to get to you.

Do you have a supplementary question?

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:28:00

Cllr Laura Davison - 0:28:02

Yes, will you consider criteria in assessing the bids that looks at the value to the community

of the potential uses of the building because it is such an important site and how would

that work?

Councillor Brookshire.

Cllr James Butcher - 0:28:16

So if we rewind a little, the advice we had when we had consultants looking at the various

options of Local 1 was that the most prudent course of action for us was disposal and that

and that's where we find ourselves in.

The challenge for us is now having decided

to dispose of the building, how do we

make sure we have attractive, a little bit

of some attractive options for business.

And the view is the more conditions we put on,

the less likely it is we're going

to get the kind of business that we want,

that will then generate the capital receipts that we need

to make the successful focus.

So very, very happy to discuss that and more proud of it.

Thank you. Question 4 from Councillor Chapman to Councillor Jim Martin.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:29:03

Cllr Bridget Chapman - 0:29:07

Thank you, Chair. Can you please talk me through the decision -making behind holding an extremely

important Council meeting, one in which we voted on the proposed geographical models

for local government reorganisation in Kent, something which is going to impact on absolutely

everyone living here at 4pm? I appreciate this has been a fast -moving situation and

timetable has not been of this council's making, but not all councillors are retired or able

to set their own schedules, and this timing feels extremely unfair to councillors who

work and, more importantly, to the people they represent. I arrived late because I couldn't

get out of work any earlier and subsequently missed most of the debate. I then had to vote,

having not had the opportunity to hear most of the discussion. This was an important vote

with significant consequences, and this meeting should never have been scheduled for 4pm.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:29:57

Cllr Jim Martin - 0:30:01

Thank you Councillor Chapman for your question.

I truly apologise for any inconvenience caused by the earlier start time.

The meeting was actually diarised six months ago and no concerns were raised until the

day of the meeting.

The earlier meeting time was necessary in order to accommodate the LGR time lines

and other diary commitments that you alluded to.

It also enabled Cabinet to meet immediately after the full Council.

We do try to convene meetings at their usual start times,

but there are rare occasions where this is not possible,

and indeed this was one of those occasions.

The extraordinary meeting was scheduled to start at 4pm,

with Cabinet being convened to start at either 6pm

or on the rising of the full Council meeting,

which allowed sufficient time for all members

to have their five minutes speaking time at the meeting.

As it happened, the Council meeting did not run for the anticipated time

and Cabinet were able to sit earlier than the expected start time.

But again, apologies for any inconvenience.

Do you have a related question?

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:31:25

Cllr Bridget Chapman - 0:31:27

I do, and I take your point, Jim,

but that puts the owners back on working councillors to scrutinise

and to flag it, and nobody thought that...

I think I spoke to a fellow councillor about this,

and we thought that was a briefing,

and then the meeting was at six o 'clock.

o 'clock. Can we make sure, please, that we don't schedule meetings at four o 'clock unless

it's an absolute emergency?

Councillor Martin.

Very happy to make that assurance, Councillor Chapman, and apologies once again.

Cllr Jim Martin - 0:31:59

Question five from Councillor Chapman to Councillor Butcher.

Cllr Bridget Chapman - 0:32:04

Thank you, Chair. While I am hopeful that the works and folks in Town Centre to improve

the area around Central Station and Debenhams, or Volker as we're calling it now, and to

create a new park on the site of the bus station will be an improvement.

Residents, and I've had lots of people commenting on this, are getting fed up with the constant

changes. People carrying shopping home, who have already adapted their route several times

because a footpath's been closed, suddenly find there's been another change and they

have to go the long way round. The 105 bus stop which serves people in my ward has moved,

Well I said two or three times, I checked, it's actually four times.

And people who rely on that service because they have mobility issues, have missed busses

as a result and have been left to stand in the cold.

I know that much has been done to keep people informed.

But can we please have an obvious tab on the front page of the council's website with the

latest changes and updates and can we do much more to use social media, both ours and folks

in town councils to keep people updated and minimise the impact on residents.

Councillor Butcher.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:33:07

Thank you, Madam Chairwoman for your question.

Cllr James Butcher - 0:33:10

I'm looking forward to improvements from the folks in the Blythe of 2015.

And work scheduled to finish in summer 2026, come adventure 2.

I'm also grateful to you and other work councillors for continuing to highlight these kinds of problems as they arise.

I really appreciate that.

Unfortunately, as we know, any regeneration project to this scale will inevitably cause significant disruption

and we are grateful to residents and businesses for bearing with us as we shape the Kingston Town Centre

into a safer, greener and more welcoming place to spend time.

The relocation and closure of bus stops, as well as the re -routing of traffic and the changes to the pedestrian routes that we've highlighted

have been necessary to allow the work to progress through their various stages.

We've worked with SageFate to ensure details about changes to bus service are published

on their website to minimise confusion.

We've also been using social media to share news about the works.

For example, a recent Facebook post which included an update about the creation of the

temporary bus stop will include more than 31 ,000 times.

Thank you for your suggestion about the Council website.

In the future we'll have the latest updates as a permanent item in the news section of

website home page. If there's more you think we can do, I'd be delighted to meet and discuss that with you.

And if you're spotting problems where things are not on the Stagecoach website, please let us know so we can

cheque them up on that. So, thank you.

Do you have a related question?

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:34:43

Cllr Bridget Chapman - 0:34:46

Yes, I just wonder if there's anything that can be done to put pressure on Stagecoach to do better in updating

people. As an example, I mean, not everybody uses the app. I know that lots of people don't have smartphones,

but there is a section on the app when you're looking at your bus which says

disruptions and if you click on it it just takes you back to the beginning

it's in a loop whereas they could easily update changes it wouldn't get to

everybody but it would if it stops one person with mobility issues from missing

their bus then it's really worthwhile and it's a really really simple thing

they could be doing.

Councillor Burch.

Yes, thank you.

Cllr James Butcher - 0:35:18

And I know what the possibility of turning back the release,

in Sage Coast or any other town.

I'm very happy to take that up again

and let that list of conversations going

from the top and the bus passengers

who are overlooked when coming to the town.

Thank you.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:35:36

Question six from Councillor Keene

to Councillor Polly Blakemore.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Blakemore.

Cllr Nicola Keen - 0:35:42

In view of the restrictions imposed

on where you can walk your dogs,

can I ask that the dog park in Cherry Garden Lane

is moved away from the road

and the size increased for that area.

An area is found in central, the Lees area of Folkestone where people can walk their

dogs.

More and more people are using the dog parks and they are becoming overcrowded and dangerous.

Councillor Coady, please.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:36:09

Cllr Polly Blakemore - 0:36:11

Thank you for that question, Councillor Peane.

The only material change to dog restrictions this year has been the requirement to keep

dogs in the Lees in the lower Lees park in the lower Lees area.

and around the former gardens.

While I understand how much this has upset some dog owners,

the measures were put in place

following the Questing residents

and the ground maintenance team

who raised concerns about damage

being caused to the planted beds.

The Council does have to balance the needs

of all the district's residents,

those that own dogs and those that don't.

Unfortunately, property services have advised

that there was no budget to reposition

and expand the dog run at Morehouse,

recreation ground or to create a new one

to serve central folks and they do point out

that there is already a dog run at Dagenham Park.

There is also of course as you know a large dog run

behind the Queen Hills Sports Centre

less than a 10 minute walk away from Moor Hall.

And it's worth noting that dogs do not have to be

on the lead anywhere within Moor Hall Recreation Ground

although I appreciate that for dogs that need

to be contained that isn't an option.

As you know I am a dog owner myself

and I honestly haven't seen the crowded

in dangerous conditions you refer to but I am happy to meet you at one of the dog rungs

that keeps dog exercising time. This is the first time the litter you refer to in the

park has let them know when.

Tomorrow.

I've got a supplementary. If we're not prepared to make that park bigger, can we have proper

Cllr Nicola Keen - 0:37:38

locks on the gates so that dogs don't escape onto a main road? Can we also have the fencing

improved so it's higher so that larger dogs can't get onto the main road. And maybe for

children and for dogs it would be an idea to have gates to stop them running out onto

the main road which does happen. The dog parks are left in a terrible state of repair. Everyone

needs the fence repaired. I understand that not everyone in Fodston have got dogs but

the people who have. The fences are in a terrible state. They come, they fix them and within

days because they're only fixed. They're back to where they were. So let's have the dog

parks fixed so that people can walk with their pets.

Cllr Polly Blakemore - 0:38:22

I will raise it with opposition and come back to you. I think from a budgeted point of view

it's not going to happen immediately but let me have a look at what the situation is and

where the main problems are when we go from there. I'll keep you updated.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:38:37

Thank you and question seven from Councillor Keene to Councillor Polly Blakemore.

Sorry about this Councillor Blakemore.

Cllr Nicola Keen - 0:38:44

CPZ parking is becoming an issue in some areas.

There are areas of Folkstone specifically in Easton Harbour wards where residents are

paying for CPZ but enforcement officers appear not to visit very often.

Are we able to have a breakdown of what parking tickets have been issued in the CPZ areas

of Harbour and East and also how often these areas are visited in the working day?

Councillor Baitmore.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:39:11

Thank you again Councillor Peele.

Cllr Polly Blakemore - 0:39:15

Folks in East and Harbour wards are designated priority areas for enforcement, particularly

during the summer months.

Our civil enforcement officers patrol streets within new zones regularly, typically two

to three times per day.

However, there will obviously still be the odd occasion when parking contraventions are

not in forces.

Our offices cannot be everywhere all the time.

If there are particular roads or times of day which you find are an issue, just let

me know and we can focus our enforcement accordingly.

It's also worth just pointing out that because we operate a virtual permit system, some of

our vehicles may have valid exemptions that are not immediately visible to other residents.

On the provision of data question, our system doesn't provide PCNs by zone but what we can

do is supply a breakdown of PCNs issued for individual roads. If you can just let me know

a list of the roads that you're interested in, I can get that organised for you.

Do you have a related question?

Cllr Nicola Keen - 0:40:14

Yes, I do. Could the Councillor tell us exactly how many enforcement officers for parking

we employ? Because it's a big district and they cover from Lid to Folkestone. So how

many do we actually employ?

At last count it was 11.

Cllr Polly Blakemore - 0:40:30

Thank you.

So now you decide where you want your funding to go.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:40:40

So we'll move on to item 8, announcements of the leader of the council. So we have 10

8 Announcements of the Leader of the Council

minutes for Councillor Jim Martin and then B5 minutes for each opposition response.

Thank you Councillor Martin.

Thank you very much Chair.

Good evening Members.

Cllr Jim Martin - 0:40:56

I sense that you all have heard far too much from me recently so I promise to keep my announcements

as brief as possible.

But I'd like to start with a thank you to the Chair for encouraging us all to wear white

ribbons which supports the campaign to stop men perpetrating violence on women.

Thank you, Chair.

I'll start off with local government reorganisation, as always.

So this council voted to support option 3A, which groups us in a unitary with our neighbours

Ashford, Canterbury and Dover, together with Thanet.

I can confirm that the business case document supporting option 3A is now complete and ready

for submission to the Government on Friday.

I would like to thank all members for their attention and their diligence in supporting

the process we have followed.

I would also like to thank all of the officers for the incredible amount of work they have

I would like to thank Dr Susan Priest and Michelle Faro.

Thank you both.

Otterfield Park is entering a critical stage.

The meetings, discussions and communications with Homes England are intense at the moment

and much is being discussed.

I'm sure the council will understand when I say there are a number of those discussions

that Homes England do not want me to repeat in public for commercial reasons.

We are about to enter another collaboration agreement with Homes England.

I will say this however, based on the formal communications we have received and the resources

Homes England are pouring into the facilitation of our future agreement, I am more confident

now than I have been in the last two and a half years that progress will be made.

My discussions with Southern Water continue. We have a community stakeholders meeting at the

Varn Boat Club on Friday morning. Members will be aware of the black pellets Southern Water

discharged into the sea at Eastbourne which have so polluted the beach at Canber Sands.

Our officers and many residents have been monitoring our beaches and thus far some black

pellets have been found but mercifully very few. Many members will be aware that the Environment

Agency published their bathing water quality results for the bathing water season this

week. The good news is that Sunny Sands avoided the poor rating that we had feared as did

St Mary's Bay but sadly both Dimchurch and Littlestone received poor ratings. Both Hive

and Sandgate continue to be rated as excellent.

I am in almost constant contact with both Southern Water and the Environment Agency

and I have to highlight the help I have been receiving from our MP Tony Vaughan.

I am disappointed to say our fight continues because clean beaches surely is a fight we

shouldn't have to have.

Just to update members, the Rural Prosperity Fund grants and the Green Grants programme will

be allocated shortly.

The applications have been vetted and ward councillors will be involved in all decisions

with regard to the allocation of the grants.

With regard to folks in a brighter future, the works are exactly on programme, however

I am aware of the disruption people are suffering

and I apologise for the inconvenience.

KCC are directing the works

and their contractors have been very good at notifying works

and helping resolve problems.

Our officers have been engaged with every aspect of the works

and we are looking forward, like everyone else, to their conclusion.

Following the Grow in Kent event at Ashford International Station,

attended by the Rail Minister, local Kent MPs including Tony Vaughan and Sojourn Joseph,

the leader of KCC and several District Council leaders.

Councillor Scoffam took the opportunity to open discussions

regarding moving freight onto the railway.

We therefore held a meeting and we have joined a group lobbying the Government

to support Network Rail in opening Barking Good Yard in East London.

This intermodal depot will allow freight to be placed onto Continental Gage Railway Waggons

which will travel through the Channel Tunnel and onto mainland Europe.

The use of this goods yard has the potential to remove 140 ,000 HGVs from the M20 annually.

I organised a joint letter of the leaders of all district councils in Kent supporting the idea.

Both of our MPs have written in support and I have received a very positive response from Lord Hendy, the Rail Minister.

I have attended a high level meeting with the integrated care board regarding the future

inclusion of the health centre in the Folker building.

The meeting was the result of our local MP Tony Bourne becoming increasingly frustrated

with a lack of progress on the health centre.

As a result the board have said they are prepared to look again at their funding model.

I will keep members informed regarding progress.

I have attended a lot of parish and town meetings this month.

I have attended the Kent Leaders meetings, the East Kent Leaders meetings.

I attended a terrific event at Folkestone College to encourage employers to give more

opportunities to young people.

I attended the Folkestone Book Festival.

I attended a brilliant Meet the Funders event at Three Hills.

I attended the Gurkha Memorial Ceremony in Folkestone

and the Remembrance Sunday Commemoration in Saltwood.

At both ceremonies I was honoured to lay wreaths on behalf of the Council.

As Councillor Godfrey said, I also attended the funeral of Philip Martin,

a past chair of this Council and someone who I remember very fondly.

As I heard the tributes read out, I was reminded how much Philip valued

the fellowship he found in this chamber, the friendship of so many people,

and ultimately that life was a lot of fun.

So, in keeping with the fun theme, the chair and I would like to invite you

to join us for a fruit juice and a mince pie in the members' area

at the end of the meeting.

Thank you.

And so we'll hear from Adrian,

Councillor Adrian Lockhart first.

Thank you.

Thank you, thank you, Chair.

And I didn't know Councillor Philip Martin,

but can I associate myself with your words

in relation to this sad news?

I can also echo your thanks to officers in the team,

but the sheer amount of work that's gone into

Cllr Adrian Lockwood - 0:48:46

the local government reorganisation programme,

as Councillor Chapman alluded earlier,

it's not of our making, but we are making

the best of it as a council.

I'm going to echo what I said during that meeting

and go on the record in saying that all of the models

have advantages and disadvantages

and I was the sole person voting for one of the models

and obviously this council voted for 3A

and then the cabinet ratified that meeting after.

And actually our group, we had four councillors

at the meeting and we voted for four different models.

So at least there's kind of democracy in action

and people expressing their views

and freedom of speech and so on.

And also this council, I mean various councils

has dealt with this in various ways

and have done different measures along the way.

But as far as I can see, only this council

has done all of these things,

which is have a cross -party local government working group,

all councillor members briefings,

a stream of emails and information coming through,

sharing what's going on across the board.

I've heard storeys of other councils having to put in

freedom of information requests to their own councils

to find out what's happening.

We're thankfully nowhere near that.

And then we obviously had the full council vote,

which was advisory that went on to be ratified by cabinet.

And so thanks to everyone involved with that,

that we've had such an open, engaging,

and informative process.

So good to hear that potentially

some good news on the possible park.

We're desperate for new homes in this district.

I know the housing team are working on various schemes,

but we need them on that scale.

Southern Water, again, thank you for all the effort

you put in.

We as a group were down on the beach years ago

with Tony Thorne and the Surfers Against Sewage

and Fergal Sharkey, including Councillor Chapman,

he was there as well, and that's been the ongoing battle

and I know this council feels powerless

and going to meeting after meeting

with seemingly nothing happening,

but this is only gonna work if we all work together.

Council is doing their bit, the council doing its bit,

Tony and the government doing this bit,

record fines for water companies,

bosses bonuses banned and so on.

We have to work together

and the public have done their bit as well

alongside folks in Triennial who highlighted the issue.

On the rail freight, that's also good news.

I've been working with Councillors Goughman and Tony

and Euro and Getlink on the possible W12 improvements

at Wembley, maybe we'll link those two things together

after the meeting.

Good news on the brighter future of Volcker.

Progressing, I echo Councillor Pritchard's point,

the sooner the better,

the disruption comes to an end

and we can enjoy the benefits of that.

And I just wanted to take the last point here,

to thank officers and fellow councillors

for all parties, for all your help

with the casework that we do,

all the councillors that have surgeries,

reply to emails, meet with people,

talk to people, and get out there

and try and make this district, both the New York district,

a better place to live, work and play.

And that is how we fix things.

Slogans and online stuff gets you likes, but that's how we fix things.

So thank you all.

Thank you.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:53:06

And our opposition response will come from Councillor David Godfrey this evening.

Yes, thank you.

Cllr David Godfrey - 0:53:13

Jenny sent her apologies again to her.

She's having to undergo some planned medical treatment.

She'll be out in a couple of days,

but she just wants me to apologise again for not being here.

As we are, I think we've all said enough about that.

Other than just congratulating the officers

and all the people that worked so hard

on that multitude of bits of paper we had to look at.

So, well done.

Otterfall, another collaboration agreement.

It's going on and on and on.

I hope I can show your confidence, Leader,

on it coming to fruition at some stage.

It's a bit worrying, as Jenny said at the last meeting.

We don't seem to have a back -up plan, a plan B,

but let's just trust in your confidence

and hopefully we get some good news soon.

Southern Water, they seem to have more leaks than the budget.

The thing that puzzles me about this one is the mysteries of the marsh and the sea.

That St Mary's Bay is in a mess and I decided…

No, St Mary's Bay is alright, isn't it?

Hold on.

St Mary's Bay got a poor rating, yeah.

They avoided the poor rating.

Dim Church and Littlestone, both sides, they are in trouble.

I just don't get it.

but anyway all you can do is keep plugging away and all working together to get some

sort of resolution.

The good news on the grants fund, let's hope that those applications are being announced

very shortly.

The first and brighter future, yes there have been some disruptions but I like the progress

that's being made, it's a shame that there have been some disruptions to the bus stations

etc but I think the end result is going to be really worthwhile.

Well done on the freight to rail I think it's just as important to get the lorries on the

road as it is to have a Eurostar stop at Ashford to be honest.

Probably more important but that's a personal opinion.

Falka good luck with the sale of that hopefully it comes off right.

I can't say any more than that.

So and although I would say apart from that it's been another good year working with you

I want to, on behalf of Jenny and the group, wish you a very Merry Christmas

and a peaceful New Year, I hope. Thank you.

Thank you. And, Councillor Martin, if you would like to write your reply.

Thank you very much for your call, your response.

Cllr Jim Martin - 0:55:46

I would say again, and I think that the debate around local government reorganisation

proved it, in that we make progress through consensus, through communication,

through sharing the good, sharing the bad, and I'm very proud to be part of this chamber.

I would like to echo Councillor Godfrey's Christmas wishes,

and hope you all have a... it seems weird in November, but nevertheless,

I hope you all have a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Yes, a great thing to wish for. Thank you all.

Thank you. So we need a proposer.

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:56:30

Councillor Martin and a seconder, Councillor Pro -

Are we all agreed? Thank you.

So item nine, our agenda, the portfolio holder reports.

9 Portfolio Holder reports to Council

As always, thank you to all of our cabinet members

for providing us with excellent reports,

showing insight of what they've been doing.

So thank you to all of you for all of your hard work.

So we'll move on to item 10 opposition business.

10 Opposition Business

We have no opposition business.

So onto item 11 motions on notice.

11 Motions on Notice

We have one motion on notice from Councillor Rich Holgate.

So Councillor Holgate would you like to propose your motion?

Thank you.

I would.

Thank you very much.

Cllr Rich Holgate - 0:57:11

Good evening Councillors.

This council notes the outstanding and indispensable work of voluntary organisations across the

district.

For example, Sunflower House and the Rainbow Centre, Age UK and the Romney Marsh Community

Hub, and the network of local food banks, warm hubs and debt advice groups.

Despite growing demand and shrinking national safety nets, these organisations step up and

deliver at a time when many households are squeezed by the long -running cost of living

crisis.

It is worth reminding everyone this is a crisis that has not gone away.

According to the Food Foundation, as of January 25, about 14 % of households are experiencing food insecurity.

Trusts all report that demand for food banks has grown over 50 % over the last five years.

This Council believes that countless families and individuals are now reliant on the voluntary community sector to fill gaps that should not exist.

Years of austerity -driven cuts by successive governments have reduced public service capacity

and deprived communities of resilience.

This morning's shambles of a budget is only going to be making that worse.

At a county level, KCC under reform have compounded the pressure by continuing to prioritise populist

rhetoric over urgent human need.

For example, they've discontinued the crisis grants, which were an important service for

residents experiencing an unforeseeable short -term hardship.

As we have informed in our corporate plan, the Council believes in the principles of

promoting community engagement, supporting local action and reducing inequality.

We recognise that this Council has made a conscious effort to enable and strengthen

the volunteering community sector through consistent financial support for our three

community hubs, our leadership of the District Food Network and initiatives such as the annual

Meet the Funders event, we have helped local organisations sustain vital services and amplify

their impact. These are achievements that every councillor in this chamber can be proud of,

yet we know there is more to do. Therefore, this council resolves that this council has

both a moral duty and a practical opportunity to support and strengthen the voluntary sector

in focusing on Hyde and the Romley Marsh, so that delivery is not undermined by external cuts and

local need is met effectively. Therefore, through this motion it will take the following

steps. To write a formal letter to the Kent County Council urging them to reverse the

decisions to abolish or scale down local crisis loan or similar discretionary emergency assistance

schemes and to restore proper support for people caught in the cost of living emergency.

To reaffirm this Council's commitment to supporting residents through the cost of living

crisis, including continued backing for food bank and pantry services, warm hubs delivered

throughout community hubs, and cost of living advice provided by our welfare team and assistance

advice bureau.

The council also reaffirmed its support for the green grants scheme, which helps community

organisations reduce energy costs and improve resilience, complementing our broader programme

of assistance to those most in need at this time.

And finally, to build on the work this council has done to increase engagement with the voluntary

sector exploring opportunities for partnership working and opportunities and to raise the

profile of the excellent work being done in our district.

We owe a deep debt of gratitude to the voluntary and community organisations that sustain our

district through challenging times.

The best way to honour their contributions is through action by committing to support,

enable and champion this sector for the long term ensuring it remains strong, resilient

and ready to serve each generation.

Thank you.

I move the motion.

Thank you.

And do we have a seconder?

Councillor Mike Blaipmore.

And would you like to speak?

Yes please, Chair.

Cllr Mike Blakemore - 1:01:08

Thank you, Councillor Holgate, for bringing this very timely motion to Council.

Today has been budget day and given that it's now less than a month until Christmas.

Someone's bound to characterise the Chancellor as Scrooge.

I won't go down that road, but I am tempted to describe austerity as the ghost of Christmas

past.

Except, of course, for many voluntary organisations, it is very much the ghost of Christmas present.

Locally, we know many voluntary organisations are struggling, including the Citizens'

Advice Bureau and the Samaritans closing their Folkstone branches, and Age UK closing its

base in Limage.

Organisations are having to do more with less, having to find new ways of working and having

to constantly seek new sources of funding. The fact that all 80 places at our recent

Meet the Funders event were snapped up in just over 48 hours is testament to that. They

do so while demand upon many increases because of the cost of living crisis, because of the

impact of government policies such as cutting the winter fuel allowance, and because the

NHS and other public sector organisations are themselves no longer able to adequately

provide services people rely upon. You mentioned the Reform Administration at

Kent County Council scrapping crisis grants. Amid a list of rather spurious claims about

savings this one was genuine. £50 ,000 saved by scrapping crisis grants provided to residents

who find themselves in urgent need of supermarket vouchers for food, toiletries or nappies,

or gas or electric vouchers for prepayment metres.

Such measures only serve to increase the pressure on voluntary organisations already struggling

to meet the needs of those hardest hit.

I'm proud that we provide the cost of living help outlined in the report before you, together

with a range of grants supporting other community organisations, and I hope very much that we'll

be able to continue to do so to the same level once we no longer receive UK Shared Prosperity

Fund prosperity fund monies. That would undoubtedly be in the spirit of this motion. So what would

the Ghost of Christmas yet to come show us? When it comes to finances, I fear for the

future of many voluntary organisations, but I am encouraged by everything I've come to

know about these organisations over the last two and a half years. We are fortunate beyond

words to have a powerful community spirit in this district, with organisations and individuals

devoting themselves to supporting others with essentials like food, shelter and well -being,

and much more besides.

Partnership is key, and this Council is playing a leading role, as it should.

Our community safety and wellness partners now number more than 290, compared with 38

in April last year.

Many have formed new working relationships through our networking and wellness events.

I was pleased recently to join John O 'Connor from Sunflower House to facilitate our annual

networking event which saw this chamber packed with community organisations. We discussed

John's plans for a One Folkstone network which promises to secure partnership working for

the future. We are encouraging more people to volunteer, working with Kent Coast Volunteering

on our annual Excellence in Volunteering Awards. I'm delighted that we've recently begun work

on next year's awards which will be presented on the 4th of June nominations open in January.

This Council also established the District Food Network and today we had a large workshop,

I was glad to see Councillor Davis and Councillor Shub there, bringing together dozens of organisations

and individuals to help us establish priorities and projects to meet the needs highlighted

in this motion.

I'm looking forward to taking over chairing the Network from the Rainbow Centre, we've

done a great job on our behalf as well of course as partnering with the Council to establish

our districts innovative mobile food service and providing emergency shelter to those experiencing

homelessness.

Thank you again Councillor Holgate for bringing this motion and giving us an opportunity to

raise the profile of the voluntary sectors vital work in our district and to offer our

thanks to all of those involved.

Thank you so this is now open for debate.

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:05:23

Councillor Chapman.

Thank you chair and thank you Councillor Holgate for bringing this motion.

Cllr Bridget Chapman - 1:05:30

I want to speak in support of the aims of this motion and also to add some essential

context about why our voluntary and community organisations are under such extreme and unsustainable

pressure.

The motion rightly recognises the extraordinary work done by groups across our district including

the Rainbow Centre, AGK, Romley Marsh Community Hub, our Food Banks, Warm Hubs and so many

others.

These organisations are showing compassion, flexibility and dedication at a time when

many households are facing genuine hardship.

They deserve our sincere thanks.

But we must be honest about why so many residents now depend on these services.

It is not because communities have suddenly become more fragile, it is because the formal

safety nets that people once relied on have been stripped away.

And in Kent, that situation is set to worsen because of deliberate political decisions.

Reform came into office at Kent County Council promising that savings would be easy, that

they would root out waste, streamline budgets and balance the books with minimal difficulty.

But governing has proved far more complex than their rhetoric suggested.

In the months since they took control, we have seen instability, confusion and a lack

coherent financial planning and now the consequences are clear. The latest budget forecast shows

Kent County Council facing a £46 .5 million overspend on a working budget of £1 .53 million

for 2526. That is not a minor gap. That is a financial black hole. And crucially, that

overspend has grown since reform took office. The report itself warns that this poses a

risk to the Council's future financial sustainability.

In response, Reform have chosen to cut crisis grants, small but vital interventions that

help residents facing sudden hardship.

Removing this safety net does not reduce need, it simply pushes more pressure onto districts,

charities and volunteer groups already stretched to breaking point.

But this brings me to an important point that we must keep in view.

While our volunteer and community sector is remarkable, we cannot and should not rely

on volunteers to provide essential public services. We have been down that road before.

The example of libraries is instructive. When councils across the country were forced to

cut library budgets, many attempted to fill the gap by handing libraries over to volunteer

groups. The results were predictable and unequal. BBC analysis in September 2024 found that

Since 2016, more than 180 council run libraries have been either closed or transferred to

volunteers and it was the poorest communities that paid the price.

They were four times more likely to lose a publicly funded library.

Meanwhile, around 2 ,000 professional library jobs were lost.

This is what happens when essential services are allowed to depend on charity instead of

stable public funding.

Provision becomes patchy, inequalities deepen and communities that need support the most

receive the least.

We must not repeat that mistake with crisis support, food provision, emergency assistance

or any of the other services currently being propped up by volunteers.

Supporting the voluntary sector is vital, but substituting it for properly funded public

services is dangerous, unfair and unsustainable.

That is why the motion before us is so important.

Writing to Kent County Council is not just symbolic, it is necessary.

Reaffirming our support for food banks, warm hubs and welfare advice is essential.

Strengthening our partnerships with the voluntary sectors the right course.

But we must also be clear, none of this excuses county level mismanagement or absolves the

reform administration of responsibility for the financial crisis they have created.

Our community organisations are doing everything they can.

This council is stepping up.

Now, county council must do the same, reverse harmful cuts, confront the financial reality

they have caused and start governing with serious incompetence.

That is what our communities deserve.

For all these reasons, I support this motion and I hope councillors across this chamber

join me in sending a united message.

Residents deserve services they can rely on, not services left to luck, volunteers or charity

because of avoidable political choices.

and I have a friendly amendment that I would like to propose.

I don't know which point is possible to do that.

You can propose it now if you would like.

Okay.

I would like to add the following paragraph under this Council believes.

This Council also believes that while the voluntary and community sector provides extraordinary

support, essential public services should never be dependent on volunteers.

We therefore oppose cuts that shift statutory responsibilities onto community groups and

affirm that essential services must be professionally delivered, properly resourced and publicly

funded, and add the following new action under the Council Resolves to commit to opposing

any future proposals at county or national level that seek to replace or downgrade essential

professionalised public services with volunteer -run alternatives and to work with partners, MPs

and sector organisations to advocate for sustainable, long -term funding settlements that safeguard

essential services for all residents.

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:11:01

Is it possible for us to have a copy of that please?

Thank you.

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:11:11

Do you have a seconder for your amendment?

Councillor Liz McShane would like to second that.

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:11:25

This now becomes the debate and I wonder whether you could just read that out again for us

Gemma, would that be all right?

Just so that we're clear about what we're we we are now debating the motion with the amendment. No

Nope we're debating the amendment. Sorry

We have had a seconder councillor McShane

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:12:09

So we're going to read out the amendment again.

So what will happen is that we will then debate the amendment and then if we vote on that,

then that becomes the substantive motion.

So, Gemma, thank you.

Ms Jemma West - 1:12:23

So the following paragraph be added under this Council believes.

This Council also believes that while the voluntary and community sector provides extraordinary

support, essential public services should never be dependent on volunteers.

We therefore oppose cuts that shift statutory responsibilities onto community groups and

affirm that essential services must be professionally delivered, properly resourced and publicly

funded.

Under the Council Resolves, to add an additional point,

to commit to opposing any future proposals at county or national level that seek to replace or downgrade essential,

professionalised public services with volunteer -run alternatives and to work with partners, MPs and sector organisations

advocate for sustainable long term funding settlements that

safeguard essential services for all residents.

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:13:22

Councillor Holgate are you willing to accept that

amendment? Yes 100 % I'm grateful for Councillor Chapman's

Cllr Rich Holgate - 1:13:30

contribution to the wording around it. I fully support and

Cllr Mike Blakemore - 1:13:41

accept thank you. And Councillor Blakemore are you happy to

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:13:42

We are now going to be debating on the substantive motion,

which includes that amendment,

and we'll carry on the order in which we had raised our hands.

So, Councillor Hills.

Thank you, Chair.

When I first read this, I thought,

Councillor Tony Hills - 1:13:57

I really support this, this is great,

because it's about charity starting at home.

We have local people in trouble, we know this,

and we need to support them.

But when it comes to Kent, they are now a basket case. What can I say?

I know I was there, and I still try and help them as best they can.

Help bad people is just very inexperienced.

They won't listen to Councillor Clayton, for example,

but they're very inexperienced people.

And we can't control that.

The election, they had a massive, massive majority,

and that was the democratic election held by our residents.

I think we have to be careful of what we say about this,

because it's called democracy.

Now, when the Covid happened, it was so impressive

that it sprung up our hubs.

Fantastic how they sprung up.

And they really galvanised people, the community spirit,

to come forward and help.

And in my own local one, which I'm sure Tom's going to talk about at some length,

it's great, it's fantastic what happened.

And the Robin Marsh Community Hub has now evolved,

depending on what it is, doing so much for our local community,

but it rests so much on local volunteers.

And if we didn't have those local volunteers,

the reason we're doing it, we wouldn't have it.

So I'll just say be careful.

I mean this is tremendous motion and I do support richness, but just be careful of

how you handle this because we want the right solution and the only council we

can control is this council. The only funding we can control is what this

council has and there are shocks coming I believe in the new year and you wait

and see what happens but what we can do is control what we do here and on that

we should do as much as we can to help our communities.

So that's just my view for this.

Thank you.

Councillor Meade.

Thank you, Chair.

Am I talking about the amendment?

Cllr Jackie Meade - 1:16:20

We're talking about the whole motion now with the amendment.

I just wanted to confirm on that.

Number one, I totally support this amendment.

we should never ever have to rely on voluntary services and charities to enable our residents

to live a decent life. It's always been a really big bugbear of mine and I'd like to

do that we're talking about the chaos for want of a better word that has been caused

by reform but I'd also like to take you back three years ago at Kent County where the

The Tory administration cut £4 .5 million off of the voluntary services budget, which

affected our residents very strongly because part of that was the funding that we gave

to Porchlight who actually help people who are needing homes and needing support.

It also cut the voluntary services that were helping our unpaid carers.

And our unpaid carers are some of the poorest people in this district.

They give up everything to look after their loved ones.

They are more likely to suffer from illness, through stress.

they don't have enough money coming in, they get £62 a week

to actually look after someone for sometimes 50, 60, 70 hours a week.

And yet they get nothing extra for that,

which means that often they have to give up their career,

they give up everything to look after loved ones to save Kent County money,

to save the government money because it means that they're not drawing on the services.

That they are the people that really, really need our support.

So when we're writing to Kent County, I think it would be timely for us to remind them how

much they have cut over the years from our voluntary services budget which allowed some

of these charities to continue and do the good work.

And I'd also, if possible, like us to raise

the issue of libraries, because libraries are a warm space.

They're easy to access, we have them in most of our areas.

And yet, because of the new surprise pressures

that are on Kent County Council,

we are hearing that our libraries are under threat as well.

They are essential, not just for the services, but to provide a warm space as well.

So please, if we can, when we write to Kent County,

as long as obviously this motion is carried forward,

can we please raise the necessity of keeping our libraries open and warm

so that everyone who needs them can access them. Thank you.

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:19:38

Thank you. Councillor Thomas.

Thank you, Chair.

Cllr Paul Thomas - 1:19:45

In the last year, we've had a presentation in this chamber from Citizens Advice Bureau.

And the actions they have taken to mitigate the effects of budget cuts,

to allow them to support the most vulnerable and needy residents in our community.

Tonight, we have also heard in this chamber on the life -saving service provided by the Romney Marsh Community Hub, the Marsh B.

an excellent example of a community coming together led by an inspirational leader Liz

Taylor supported by a very flexible dedicated volunteer team.

There are many other examples of similar schemes including those associated with residents

living with dementia. The cuts have already had an impact on the dementia support provided

by the organisations noted by Councillor Holgate in this motion. We must also recognise the

problems that these organisations have seen in securing the services of volunteers,

particularly since Covid. So I support this motion as amended. Thank you.

Thank you. Councillor Alan Martin.

Cllr Alan Martin - 1:20:55

Thank you, Chair. The original motion, I have to say, is very difficult to disagree with the

essence of. And, you know, the voluntary organisations in our area do loads of great

I think the council does lots to support and there's more we can do.

So in particular that third item in the motion around us,

the cross party across the whole council doing everything we can

to think about how we can support them better,

I completely agree with that.

And in fact the session we had before the council session

gave me some ideas in that if the NHS potentially

is looking more at community care,

A lot of units like the Romy Marsh Community Hub already have consultation rooms and whatever

where people get their hearing tests done and whatever and there must be a solution

in there somewhere where we can make those community centres an integral part of this

new community based care that the government is seemingly preparing to put money into.

So I'm all in on that.

What concerns me a little bit is the constant political rhetoric and niggling that we're increasingly having in this chamber,

which frankly isn't really, I mean we can all have our personal views about them, but you see it coming up in questions and answers,

you see it coming up in debates, and I don't really think it's a good use of our time, frankly.

We should be focused on our residents and what we can do for our residents within the scope of what we've got control over.

KCC have got elected, I think most of us in this chamber would rather reform not be running KCC,

but they are, democratically it happens, we've just got to get over that.

They're going to make their decisions, they'll live and die by those decisions.

When those decisions hurt us, we absolutely should stand up and say,

look we would rather you not do that and I think we should write a well -reasoned,

non -political letter from the council that highlights the pain that that decision is causing

and urging them and their councillors to work with us to support our local communities

and I think there should be a level at which they would be prepared to do that with us

and I mean frankly in two years time we're all going to be one unit anyway

so why don't we start working together.

I broadly support the original motion.

I struggle with the amendment frankly because it turns us into a student debating society

where we want to throw this massive wish list onto what was actually quite a pragmatic,

reasonable motion that we could actually take some tangible action.

We might as well add world peace into the thing.

I can't really buy into something which is just making a series of statements

that none of us have got any real control over.

What does it actually mean to sign up to that part of the amended motion?

So I don't know what I'm going to do because I was going to support the original motion

but we've rushed into combining the amendment which I'm struggling to digest actually.

Councillor Scobb from...

Cllr Stephen Scoffham - 1:24:11

I'm going to be supporting the motion.

I'm casting my mind back earlier in the year

when we had an event at the Sustainable Futures Forum.

I was amazed when we had around 70 organisations, individuals and groups

coming along to that particular event

to talk about how they could further what they were doing

and apply for a small grant to help them along.

and a lot of them do apply.

Thanks partly to Councillor Tim Prater's timely intervention

in the Council meeting.

The £1 ,000 ceiling was made much more accessible as it were

and groups were able to apply for 100 % of the £1 ,000

in the net reported after that.

The interesting thing was that out of the 50 or so applications

that we got, around half were for the very small sums of money

enabling the local community to do things in the local community

to harness their energies.

I think that's really inspiring.

I'm very pleased to see that Green Grant's actually mentioned

in the motion that we've just been looking at.

So, for me, what we're talking about

is definitely a whole range of different things.

I just want to broaden it out slightly.

Food, absolutely yes.

Those groups that were coming along were community pitching.

they were to clear the food banks.

Warmth and shelter, absolutely yes.

Heating your home, heating it more efficiently,

heating it cheaper, getting insulation, solar panels,

all those things come into it and I think that's great.

Warmth is not just very important,

and it is to keep physically warm, but social warmth.

The wellbeing and health of our community

is something that is lurking behind this conversation, I think,

because well -being and mental health is such a big issue at the moment.

That implies a bigger sense of what it is to be prosperous,

what prosperity actually means.

It's physical, but it's also mental.

It's also about belonging to communities.

I think that the strap line that we've got in the corporate plan,

which is enhancing prosperity and well -being for all,

brings it together in a neat way.

And of course, I've said it before,

that's underpinned by the Sustainable Development Goals,

which brings the social, the environment

and the economic together in a unity.

So, that broader idea of wellbeing underpins this motion

and that's why I want to support it.

And that wellbeing is about clean water,

it's about clean air and it's about the natural environment.

how much time are we spending on clean water and clean beaches?

This is part of that sense of wellbeing

and it's a part of that bigger picture of a natural environment

and people thriving and prospering in our district.

So let's hold on to that.

This is absolutely about local residents,

it's absolutely about the wonderful work that these enormous numbers of...

I couldn't believe that there were 70 different organisations

coming along to that meeting in April

and a similar number coming along to the meeting we had in early October.

So I'm very pleased to support the principles behind this motion

because I think that's at the spot on.

Thank you. Councillor Godfrey.

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:27:38

Yes, thank you.

Cllr David Godfrey - 1:27:45

I don't think anyone in the Chamber will be against the aspirations

and the wishes of this motion and the intent of it.

But I do have to agree with my colleague here

about getting too political with these things,

because that's not within our gift as a council, in my opinion.

Also, I'm a little bit concerned about promising things that we can't deliver.

That's what we must be very careful about.

What we're being asked to do here is receive and note the report

and then to consider the motion on notice put forward by Councillor O 'Brien.

But I'm not quite sure what that means.

Does it mean yes, write your letter, which probably goes straight in the bin,

but yes, write your letter.

And then lay out lots of aspirations that we'd like to do,

but we won't be able to do.

I just don't want people to believe that we can actually create miracles.

Yes, support the voluntary sector,

but just be careful on what we promise.

That's what I'm saying.

I will support it,

because I think the underlying sentiments are absolutely correct,

but I will support it with that morning notice.

Thank you.

Thank you. Councillor Speakman.

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:28:56

Cllr David Godfrey - 1:28:57

Yeah, I just want to...

Cllr Jeremy Speakman - 1:29:00

A lot has already been said, the things I'm going to say,

but I just want to say, I've worked for many, many years

both in the voluntary sector and in the statutory sector,

and they both have their role, really,

and I think what was interesting

was seeing how the voluntary sector expanded in the early 2000s.

as it took over and in many ways seemed a good idea at the time.

It took over more effectively a lot of the statutory services.

And then they got bitten hard because the government came along,

or the successive government administrations came along,

and squeezed them, absolutely squeezed them.

And they were then looking around,

scrabbling around for other sources of funding.

And I think what really...

It wasn't just the voluntary sector, the statutory sector as well,

that was progressively squeezed.

And what really, really hacked me off in those years,

the past 15 years or so, was a blatantly cynical way

in which previous administrations, at both local and national level,

exploited the goodwill and commitment of public sector workers

and still do so in order to fill those gaps.

Get down on your knees and thank God that there were people out there

who were willing to work and to the detriment of their own health

quite often to provide a continuing service.

Let's not forget that.

We are still the sixth largest economy in the world.

And we have food banks.

For heaven's sake.

I remember seeing this, we've got box pop, this person said,

we used to only have two food banks, now we've got six.

It's not something to be proud of.

Now we've got gaps to fill.

We have gaps to fill and the voluntary sector,

they've come up and stepped up to the plate

and they keep things going.

Sometimes they provide a really good service of added value,

sometimes it's basically a sticking plaster

that shouldn't be there in the first place.

I'm not knocking voluntary organisations

that are absolutely vital to provide that added value,

but they're not there to be a supplement

to what should be provided through our taxation,

through public sector services.

We need to get that balance right.

So I think funding is precarious and always short -term

for voluntary sector organisations that work bloody hard.

And I think we ought to make sure that we continue to support

those voluntary organisations doing valuable work in our district.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. Councillor Cooper.

Thank you, Chair.

Cllr Tony Cooper - 1:31:34

I'd like to endorse the remarks from Councillor Thomas there.

Note what Councillor Hill says and Councillor Martin as well.

But the point being is this, irrespective of the political divide here, the political debate,

it is a fact, yes, where we always recognise and have got to accept the democratic decision of our residents

in the way that they vote at the county council. That's called democracy as people have said.

However, it wouldn't be mean, I mean we have got a moral duty here to point out on behalf of our residents

that they did not actually vote for Cuts to Services.

They didn't vote at the choice of demailing the election

to remove public services to be replaced by voluntary sector and nothing like that.

Now what we've also got to bear in mind is this.

The majority of people who go to food banks,

the majority of people who actually claim university credits are actually in work.

As Councillor Speemann has just said,

We shouldn't be proud of having a number of food banks.

We should be ashamed.

I mean ashamed.

But also, as a former employee of Disabilities and Life Bureau,

we've actually seen how cuts into services etc. affect people on a daily basis, on a long term basis.

I'm going to vote in favour of this because we have got a moral duty, as a council,

to stand up on behalf of our residents.

Irrespective, I know where Councillor Martin's coming from, irrespective of that, we do have

a duty.

We just cannot sit here and let it continue without saying anything.

And that's one of the reasons I will support it.

Thank you.

Councillor Keene.

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:33:14

Cllr Nicola Keen - 1:33:16

Yeah, I'd just like to say I work in a statutory service when once upon a time, way back in

the early 2000s, I could go to a manager and ask for money for a child, for a coat, shoes,

anything. I didn't have to rely on voluntary services. They were there to provide the nice

things like Christmas parties for kids, days out. Now they rely on that money to feed those

children. Councillor Speakman and I both worked for KCC in the good years, in the good years

when both of us could ask for anything for a child, where our friends in adult services

could ask for anything for an adult. And one thing I think now, and totally agree with

with both the amendment and the main items that Councillor Holgate brought up, we shouldn't

be relying on them, but we are, and in my job, if we didn't have those voluntary services,

a lot of our children would go hungry.

I've spent weeks going to taking children to food banks to get their families enough

food.

I shouldn't be doing that.

Their families should have enough money, and the county once did that.

We had school uniform grants, we had free school meals.

I think free school meals are still there, but uniform grants aren't.

And I think we cut and cut and cut.

And they were cut in the early 2000s.

We haven't got the money in pen and none of these voluntary organisations.

We were promised all kinds of things at the election.

Let those things come to fruition.

We need to write and remind them what they promised the people of this district.

They need to be reminded that there are children going hungry.

So I support both the amendment and it's brilliant but we've got to tell them.

Even if they put it in the bin they need to be reminded.

Thank you.

Do we have anybody else who would like to speak on this motion?

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:35:10

So Councillor Holgate if you would like to sum up please.

Thank you everyone for your contributions.

Cllr Rich Holgate - 1:35:17

I'm hugely grateful and very warmed by what is overall, well pending your vote, support.

But just a couple of comments as they went around.

Councillor Chapman and others, we cannot rely on volunteers.

I totally agree that our fundamental core of the intent of this motion and again how

we as a council can support and enable the volunteering sector and leverage our resources

as the council, not just in a monetary way, but how we can open up this council chamber

and our time, and how we can support the voluntary sector in other ways as a council.

Councillor Hill's democracy, funny old thing.

Yes, I recognise, of course, we are in the democratic consequence of that election, but

thankfully for the same democracy that means that we can continue to lobby and advocate

for better solutions for our residents.

So I look forward to doing that.

So you suggest I tread carefully.

I politely, I won't be.

Call me young and naive, but I don't want to be careful.

I want to be quite loud and vocal about it.

But thank you for your contribution.

Comes to me, libraries, keeping them open.

Thankfully, obviously, our own Fokse Library

has a glimmer of hope around it because

of a collaborative community effort.

And again, such is the power of our community.

totally recognise that. Councillor Thomas and others mentioned in the Romney Marsh

Hub my mother -in -law having spent seven months in chemo enjoyed a free session

being made up and having a makeover yesterday and honestly it's been

transformational. It's just such a standout example of how our community hubs can

a real impact on our community.

Councillor Martin,

politicking, I think most of you know I really hate

politics, I'm not a fan,

and therefore writing a letter that is non -political, it won't be a green letter,

it'll be a council letter, but I refuse to rule out context

because context is key and the evidence of austerity does

points to the situation I'm in today. So I recognise the point but I refuse to rule out context when writing this letter.

As for the amendment, I did grab the word and just remind myself, I don't think it's elaborate as asking for world peace but it does ultimately reinforce the point of the proposal, excuse me, the point of the original motion and therefore I don't think it detracts too much.

I think he actually further supports it, but I appreciate your feedback.

And I can't find a final point. I'm sensitive to time.

Council Godfrey, you can't create miracles and it's a warning notice, but again, I quite reject your advice too.

And I don't see the problem personally with drawing a line in the sand as a council and I let May go in the bin, but that shouldn't stop us from doing it in the first place.

I think they were the main ones and so I will again thank you very much for your

contribution to this motion and hopefully we can move forward and get

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:38:35

practical on it. Thank you. Okay so I think we take this to the vote. Those in favour?

And that's unanimous. Thank you everybody.

12 Medium Term Capital Programme update 2025/26

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:38:51

So we're going to move to item 12, the medium term capital programme update. Do we have

a proposal? Councillor Prater, would you like to speak on this?

Cllr Tim Prater - 1:39:04

I'm going to try and not detain you much longer but it depends on you. The paper is in front

of you as are the four recommendations. None of the changes which are listed in here I

hope will come as any surprise to people who have seen past papers, past agreements made

at cabinet and elsewhere. Therefore none of the projects should be a surprise either,

I hope, and in most instances what this is doing is just flexing where the funding for

those projects which have been agreed in the past, where they come from, and particularly

for instance including the beach management accepting in a grant from outside to put into

capital programme in order to move Shingle up and down for the next five years, which I wholly support.

So I won't go on, and you've heard there's the paper as is in front of you, I'm moving the recommendations

and I hope somebody will second it, and if anyone's got any questions I'll come back in summation.

So we have Councillor Hills to second, and would you like to speak on that?

Councillor Tony Hills - 1:40:10

Thank you, Chair. Actually I'd like to second it. I'm actually supporting it.

I'd like to take it to the vote.

Would anybody else like to speak on this?

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:40:21

No? So, are we all agreed?

Agreed.

Fantastic. Thank you.

And we'll move on to Item 13,

13 Delivering more council owned temporary accommodation

delivering more Council -owned temporary accommodation.

Councillor Shub, you're proposing this, are you?

Cllr Rebecca Shoob - 1:40:42

Thank you Chair, yes. I'm very pleased to support this recommendation to full Council,

asking for Council's approval for additional budget to acquire more of our own temporary

accommodation. However, I have to say I'm equally angry that this is so very necessary.

It's wrong that there are so many people who are struggling to find a secure permanent

home and it's wrong that the funding for councils to provide the necessary

statutory provision of temporary accommodation does not cover the actual

costs faced by councils across the country and we know that this

issue is bringing many of councils to the brink of financial collapse. This is

a direct consequence of political choices by successive governments over

decades.

But to bring us back to the here and now,

I want to commend the successful work by our housing officers,

in particular the work of the housing options team, who

have helped people threatened with homelessness

to stay in their homes or to secure

alternative accommodation.

And that has meant that our need for temporary accommodation

has been relatively speaking low. However, numbers have risen significantly over the last year and

our reliance on private nightly lets to provide temporary accommodation is putting a completely

unsustainable strain on the general fund. So it is essential that we take action now. You'll see

in the example given in the paper of a two bed nightly lekte costing £385 a week,

that the council can claim back less than a third of this cost through housing benefit.

So if we can use more of our own self -contained accommodation for temporary accommodation,

and that we'll also be using a very short, in the short term,

a small number of our existing HRA properties,

we will be able to significantly reduce the impact on the general fund.

The financing costs will largely be covered by the rental income

and obviously officers will look as ever to secure grant funding

wherever possible.

And finally, in the event that we do get to a position

where we don't need quite so much temporary accommodation.

Any homes would then be available as part of the HRA

to provide the long -term secure homes that people need.

So I'd like to move the recommendations

and ask that you agree a capital growth budget

of £5 million to allow us to secure at least 20 more HRA

homes that we can use as much needed temporary accommodation.

Thank you.

Thank you and Councillor Prater to second.

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:43:47

And would you like to speak on this?

Cllr Tim Prater - 1:43:55

Very briefly in that we know that this does not meet the amount of the increase in temporary

accommodation that we have seen even in the last year.

But it is a step towards it, it helps mitigate some of that and we might come back and do

this again.

But this is a step that we need to take now.

This A gives us good temporary accommodation which allows us to help the people who are in the most need urgently now

and gives us a combination that we can control and it allows us to escape the perverse budgeting trap which the Government has set for us.

That we get £114 for housing a family for the week for people who need it most.

Yet if we own the accommodation, we can claim all of that cost back.

Go figure. It's weird.

This is a first step towards giving us more accommodation that we can do

and we can leave out of that situation.

We really hope to see those temporary accommodation numbers

coming back down again, but if they don't, if they stay there a while,

we are keeping all of the options open

and if we need to come back to you again, then we will.

Thank you. So this is open for debate.

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:45:08

Cllr Jackie Meade - 1:45:12

Councillor Meade. Thank you. I totally agree. It's an absolute

tragedy that we're needing more and more temporary accommodation. All I would ask is can we please

look at the way Mainstone have been dealing with this, where they've been buying very

rundown properties, been doing them up, where necessarily splitting them into flats, using

them as temporary accommodation and it's saved them so much money on their temporary accommodation

bill but has also meant that the properties, because they've been done up, there is more

commercial value to them as well and it also opens the door because they're of very good

quality once they've been done that they can be then rented on a more permanent basis.

So I totally support this but if we could possibly look at the way Maidstone have done

it I think it would widen the aspect for us to be able to help our residents in their

most dreadful need.

So thank you.

Councillor Wing.

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:46:21

Thank you Chair.

Cllr John Wing - 1:46:25

One thing that's come out over the escutcheon last night,

it's one of the key drivers to this increase in temporary accommodation

is victims fleeing domestic violence.

These people need somewhere to go and they can't wait a week,

they've got to flee then.

And what prevents people fleeing is the fact they can't go anywhere.

So I would absolutely support this motion

because that is one of the key drivers.

We need to support these people fleeing this terrible situation.

So I support this function.

Thank you.

Councillor Keene.

Cllr Nicola Keen - 1:46:59

An even better idea, even though Opportunitas is a local government trading company, why

don't we hand over the accommodation, the domestic accommodation that Opportunitas owns

over to this, you know, these houses that we're renting out and I would assume at market

rate.

So why don't those domestic houses and flats, why don't they get handed into this project?

opportunities, we shouldn't be looking at those as, you know, that money is owed to

the council, those buildings could be used to house people, so why not hand those over

to Councillor Shew so she can have those for rental.

Thank you.

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:47:42

Is there anybody else that would like to speak?

So are we going to take that to the vote?

We have a proposer and a seconder.

So all those in favour.

Thank you, that's unanimous.

Cllr Anita Jones - 1:47:57

Thank you and before we finish, it feels really early to wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Happy Christmas everybody and do join us for a mince pie after the meeting. Thank you.

We welcome your comments

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Council - Wednesday 26 November 2025, 7:00pm - Folkestone & Hythe webcasting

CouncilWednesday, 26th November 2025 at 7:00pm

Agenda

Slides

Transcript

Map

Resources

Twitter

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Speakers

Feedback

Votes

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:00:11

Microphone Forty - 0:00:19

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:03:33

Cllr David Godfrey - 0:04:12

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:05:08

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:05:42

1 Apologies for Absence

Dr Susan Priest - 0:06:27

2 Declarations of Interest

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:06:46

Cllr John Wing - 0:06:56

Cllr Rich Holgate - 0:07:03

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:07:07

Cllr Paul Thomas - 0:07:10

3 Minutes

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:07:23

4 Chair's Communications

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:07:59

5 Petitions

6 Questions from the Public

Microphone Forty - 0:12:34

Microphone Forty - 0:12:35

Microphone Forty - 0:12:41

Cllr Polly Blakemore - 0:13:58

Microphone Forty - 0:14:56

Cllr Polly Blakemore - 0:15:11

Microphone Forty - 0:15:37

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:15:38

Cllr Jim Martin - 0:16:11

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:17:17

7 Questions from Councillors

Cllr Liz McShane - 0:17:50

Cllr Tim Prater - 0:18:10

Cllr Liz McShane - 0:22:40

Cllr Tim Prater - 0:22:55

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:25:11

Cllr Liz McShane - 0:25:19

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:25:48

Cllr Mike Blakemore - 0:25:51

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:26:24

Cllr Liz McShane - 0:26:26

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:26:27

Cllr Laura Davison - 0:26:32

Cllr James Butcher - 0:26:45

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:28:00

Cllr Laura Davison - 0:28:02

Cllr James Butcher - 0:28:16

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:29:03

Cllr Bridget Chapman - 0:29:07

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:29:57

Cllr Jim Martin - 0:30:01

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:31:25

Cllr Bridget Chapman - 0:31:27

Cllr Jim Martin - 0:31:59

Cllr Bridget Chapman - 0:32:04

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:33:07

Cllr James Butcher - 0:33:10

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:34:43

Cllr Bridget Chapman - 0:34:46

Cllr James Butcher - 0:35:18

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:35:36

Cllr Nicola Keen - 0:35:42

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:36:09

Cllr Polly Blakemore - 0:36:11

Cllr Nicola Keen - 0:37:38

Cllr Polly Blakemore - 0:38:22

Cllr Anita Jones - 0:38:37

Cllr Nicola Keen - 0:38:44

Council
Wednesday, 26th November 2025 at 7:00pm